Bike on Plane Again

realslow

Sorry if this has been done to death. Flying with bike next week for the first time, Aer Lingus Cork -Heathrow. Search here suggests best and safest way is to wheel bike up to desk and not to wrap it. Would appreciate any advice from any recent travellers thanks.

Muckers

I flew Dublin to Nice return 2 weeks ago and borrowed a bike box from a friend for my carbon frame bike. It seems those airport handling staff don't care too much about our expensive machines. The outward journey posed no issues, but on returning home I realised that although I had packed the bike well and wrapped it in bubblewrap within the box, the bars were quite badly scratched. The other 7 cyclists in our group had no problem afaik. Bit of a lottery really. Surely your not suggesting putting no padding at all on your bike. If you go down that road I think your looking for trouble.

hardCopy

Seems it is pot luck alright. I flew DUB-Venice then Nice-DUB last month. At both ends we just wheeled right to the desk. Aer Lingus gave us a plastic bag to wrap the bike leaving Dublin, no wrapping required at Nice.

Both bikes were fine - but bring a pump as the handlers may deflate your tyres if you don't do it yourself (the tubes can pop in the low pressure at altitude).

On a previous trip I got an LBS to pack it in a cardboard box, as it would be delivered from the manufacturer, this worked well but requires some re-assembly on arrival. If you wheel it to the desk you can cycle out of the airport in a few minutes.

@Muckers - The idea of not wrapping the bike seems to be that if it's in a box it may end up at the bottom of a pile, no amount of bubble wrap will stop a wheel from buckling or a dérailleur from twisting if there's a pile of samsonites on top of it. If it's not wrapped the handlers can just wheel it to the plane and leave it somewhere safe in the hold.

Harrybelafonte

hardCopy wrote: »

Both bikes were fine - but bring a pump as the handlers may deflate your tyres if you don't do it yourself (the tubes can pop in the low pressure at altitude).

Apparently not true as even the luggage compartments are pressuriesed. Having some air in the tubes also adds a little bit extra protection.

My own experience is limited. On an Aer Lingus flight to Brussels with two other you used basic bike bags, I was lucky enough to borrow a Boardsie's more sturdy bike box. On both the inward and outward flight, both the bags appeared, but my box was left behind. This was a pretty miserable situation in the outward journey becasue nobody knew where it was and I was to ride a sportive the next day. It arrived on a later flight, but I wonder if it would have been easier to take a bag which was a little more malleable.

I think Hardcopy is right about it being easier to just be rolled on. A lady on another Aer Lingus flight simply wheel her larger cruiser up to the desk and had no problems.

Dubba

I used a bikebox recently for a week in Italy and next time I'm going to try just wheeling it up to the desk. Some bikeboxes are a fair bit of hassle -with the size of the things it just about fitted into a Ford people carrier yoke, wouldn't fit into a Renault estate.

denisor

Sorry if this is off topic, but how much does it cost on average to bring your bike on a flight?

el Bastardo

denisor wrote: »

Sorry if this is off topic, but how much does it cost on average to bring your bike on a flight?

Varies quite a bit; e.g. £30 with Thomson to Turkey rtn from London; €40 (now €50?) each way with Ryan-Lingus; part of your luggage allowance with several other airlines (you pay extra on a per kilo basis if you go over!)... etc.

triggermortis

I flew my bike out to Zurich recently and put it in a CRC bike bag. Remember that it has to go through 2 sets of handlers per trip and they aren't too fussy about how they load and unload, especially this time of year when flights are fuller (and there are more temporary staff employed too).
I'd let a bit of air out but not all as the cabin pressure will be the same as if you were at 8000' and so is a bit lower than sea level.
Can't comment on prices for transport as I get concessions - although I did look at the Aer Lingus web site the other day and bikes weren't listed on the sports equipment part of the ticket buying page.

07Lapierre

Aer lingus is €50 per bike, per flight. BUT: the weight limit is 15kg. If your bike is carbon, I'd recommend packing it in a bike box (not cardboard). I use a Polaris bikepod. Once packed, it weighs in at 16kg. Fingers crossed it won't be weighed!

hardCopy

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Apparently not true as even the luggage compartments are pressuriesed. Having some air in the tubes also adds a little bit extra protection.

Yeah, I had heard this too so didn't bother deflating but a "helpful" baggage handler did it for us, even picked a hole in the plastic bag to get at the valves.

davyh

I flew Dublin to Perpignan with Aer Lingus two weeks ago. I had put some padded protection around the forks and frame but that was it no other altercations were made to the bike, No bag or box for the bike either. Left it at Oversized Luggage in Dublin and they looked after it. Also had a set of panniers and a bag with all my clothes for the week left on the bike. All arrived perfectly in Perpignan. Was able to cycle it off the carousel.
However flying home from Biarritz with Ryanair was slightly different. Bike had to be checked in, weighed and had to be brought through a security area.
Saddle had to be lowered, wheels completely deflated, pedals taken off, handlebars to be turned and bike to be put in a large plastic bin bag which we bought at the airport for €1
Bike arrived in Dublin fine but pannier bags were busted

Gavb

Part of the problem is that many of the staff at the airlines and airports don't actually know what the regulations and/or requirements are. We've been told different things by different people at different times. Even bringing a printout from the airline's website doesn't help.

Packing the bike in a box is a total nightmare, we use the bags also and (touch wood) have had no problems so far. You might get a few scratches, but no more really than you might get from locking your bike at a busy bike stand.

I wouldn't advise arriving without a bag - if they don't have one at the desk you are snookered. You can buy the bags for less than a tenner here at wiggle

Also, don't seal the bag until you have been through all the various hoops they might ask you to jump through. We once had to carry our bikes to the other side of the airport in Nantes to the cargo area so they could x-ray them in a huge machine :rolleyes:

The bags can be sealed with a large cable tie - bring a few with you in case you are asked to open them and for the way home. The bags from Wiggle are quite sturdy and lasted us for 8 flights. You could also bring a roll of 'Fragile' tape to patch up any holes that mysteriously appear.

When you arrive, the bags pack up to (fat) A4-ish size and fit easily on a rack / pannier.

Enjoy your trip

Muckers

You have to phone Aer Lingus to book a bike on board. It can't be done when booking the flight online. Cost us €80 return. As regards weight limits, the lightest bike box in our group of 8 was 22kgs and mine was the heaviest at 29kgs. It was packed full of spares, track pump, gear, clothes, food and whatever else I could squeeze in. It wasn't weighed in Dublin but was in Nice, but luckily no extra charges were applied.

dubmess

I've travelled about 15 times with a CRC padded bag. Never had bike damaged, never been weighed. Brought 60kgs home from USA once, 2 bikes and 4 months of living, nobody batted an eyelid... They don't have a clue.

I find a bag handy as it means I can carry lock, tools, pump and pokey things(which otherwise aren't allowed in hand luggage), spare clothes, and not have to book a luggage bag in, which costs the same as a bike these days I think.

Last weekend I was asked on my way back from Edinburgh if I had CO2 canisters in the bag, that was a first.

C3PO

Just back from 5 days cycling in the Algarve! €80 return for bike on Aer Lingus. Carried everything in the bike bag + hand luggage inc Track pump and CO2! Bike was perfect but they damaged my lovely Evoc bag! Worth bringing your own bike rather than hiring IMHO!

triggermortis

dubmess wrote: »

Last weekend I was asked on my way back from Edinburgh if I had CO2 canisters in the bag, that was a first.

I think you'll find that CO2 cannisters are on the prohibited list thats on display at every check in desk. That said, I bought a box of 10 with me to Switzerland and nobody asked me any questions

Oryx

I've travelled with a bike box three or four times. Twice I got stung for excess baggage, thats a bit of a lottery really, depending on the staff and the airport. Box got broken once (AL). I would never trust my bike to baggage handlers without secure wrapping or a box.

mel.b

Flew DUB-IST-DOH-MEL and then MEL-DOH-LHR-SNN with my bike. DUB-IST was with Turkish, IST-DOH-MEL-DOH-LHR with Qatar and then Aerlingus LHR - SNN.

I picked up a bike bag on here 2nd hand as Qatar airlines specify it had to be packed. The nice thing about Qatar is that they give you 10kg free for sporting allowance, so 32kg all up. I think I had 35kg all up (bike + bag was around 15-16kg) and it was fine.

Turkish weighed the bag at Dublin airport but I didn't have to pay anything. Qatar didn't weigh it at Istanbul but did on the return leg departing Melbourne. Was able to interline my bags with the qatar/aerlingus flight so it wasn't weighed again for the aerlingus flight.

My bike was basically brand new so i was pretty paranoid about flying with it and had it very well padded with pipe lagging and bubble wrap and then I also made up some sides for the bike bag with cardboard and foam wadding. Bike arrived in Mel and then back to SNN with no problems.

realslow

Ok quick report. Flew with bike today Cork Heathrow. Booked bike on plane over phone 40 euro each way. Wheeled bike up to desk no boxes etc.Bike was brought up in lift to me in reclaim and guy said it was carefully packed in crate.
All in all a very positive experience and as a bonus I was able to leave it in left luggage for a couple of days untill I am ready, £8 a day well worth it especially as I am in right ****hole of a hotel. Thanks for all the advice.

Squidgy Black

My old man's a baggage handler with Aerlingus, he says the best thing to do is wheel it up to the counter but slip a large carboard box over it. Remove the bars of course. He says they get a few bikes going through and said that it makes it obvious to the lads on the runway to take care.

PWEI

If you were to go down the bike box route, can anybody recommend a reasonably priced but good one?

Muckers

http://www.canyon.com/_en/shop/?category=Z&item=30375

I bought this last week from Canyon. €259 delivered by courier to my door. It's not cheap I suppose, but it's a small price to pay to protect my pride and joy.